Trying Out my New Strada Easel, Painting Willow Trees and Mountains - Art and Painting Process

Hello Steemers

Its been a few days since I last posted as I was away in Wellington for the Easter weekend. I'm back home in Queenstown and my new Strada easel designed for painting outdoors arrived today. I had to try it out so I went to one of my favourite local outdoor painting spots.

This was my finished painting I created today, I'll show you the painting process.

Willow Trees and the Crown Range, 10" x 12", oil on canvas panel, painted outdoors 'en plein air'.

This is the view I painted, I love the farmland and the trees with the Crown Range in the distance, however I had to move some trees around to create a composition.

My new Strada easel is made of aluminium and is compact. It mounts on a camera tripod.

I am painting on a 10" x 12" canvas panel and I sketch out the composition in burnt sienna.

I start by painting the sky which is tonally light and I mix ultramarine blue, cobalt blue and titanium white.

The mountain is in full sun and is also tonally light which is why I painted the sky first so I could use it to gauge the tonality of the rest of the painting.

I used subdued desaturated colour so the mountain recede in the painting.

Next I paint the trees which tonally are one of the darkest objects in the painting, this is the focal point. I start also to paint a muddy path which leads towards the trees.

I paint the grass in the foreground, here I can let loose and use my most vibrant greens.

I finish the painting by adding more detail to the grass, refining the edges by adding shadows to the mud and painting some branches on the trees.

My finished painting on my Strada easel.

Check out my website for more painting demos and my art: samuelearp.com 

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